I love to write, create scenes, characters, storylines, and plotting what’s going to happen, but I also enjoy good movies. It may be a surprise to you that I am a visual learner, given that I write. However, this article is not about my writing style. I am disappointed by the lack of decent movies centred on our historical past, and I don’t mean the 20th Century or even going back 600 years. I am referring to flicks that reflect the ancient past.

I am doing a happy dance today and will be for the coming weeks. I have smile on my face that is growing by the minute. This comes after the very busy and chaotic week I had back at school. Our students returned on Tuesday and in my new role as Year 7 Coordinator (never done it before and learning a lot!), it was frenetic. I loved it, though exhausted by Friday, and we’ve only just started the school year. However, I digress… I have some great news I want to share with you, my amazing followers.

Two weeks ago, I had posted about the great review my book The Labyrinthine Journey received from Literary Titan. Any writer will tell you that it is gratifying and pleasing to get reviews. It is validation that someone has spent their valuable time reading your book. As a writer, I am very grateful to those readers for their time and to those who write a review, even if they didn’t like the story. Thank you so very much!

Wow, this year flown by! I am not sure what or how that happened, but here we are at the end of another year. If you still need to buy a gift or even for yourself, a book is always a nice present to buy for family and friends, especially if you’re not sure what to give them. And so, for a limited time, I have a Christmas deal.

While Evan, the main character in Search for the Golden Serpent, was dumped in the middle of a shipwreck, he had no clue as to his location. That is, until he saw the ship that rescued him, and his first foray at the port of Hippo Regius.

It was a bit of a culture shock, well a big one, being on a wooden ship and surrounded by bearded and well-season sailors, who spoke in a foreign language. Having no fresh water to drink, or regular showers! Cleanliness had a different outlook, as did fresh clothes. In any case, Evan was forced to adapt, though he did not do it gracefully or without a few unsavoury words and phrases.

In view of this, I have put together 5 hand tips in case you get stuck in the ancient world!

This is the final leg of the journey Evan and his intrepid adventurers embark on. The images I have chosen for this short PPT wasn’t easy. I have amassed some amazing photos, paintings, and maps over the number of years to help me write the Search for the Golden Serpent. The ones I have selected have been inspirational, helping me visualise what the locations must have been like at the time, and the first image was used for my book launch in 2015.

For our next leg of the journey, get comfy and pour yourself a drink, we’re about to set off to Egypt.

Evan isn’t quite happy about being stuck in the ancient world and does his utmost to let dear ole dad, Zeus, know about it. In any case, he visits Carthage, rescues his Atlantean companions, and travels to Memphis. Oh… and he gets nabbed by a harpy and is saved by a goddess!

Today, we are off to where Evan’s journey in the ancient world started: in the Mediterranean Sea. Literally. He was plucked from his comfortable 21st Century home by Zeus and ditched in the middle of a shipwreck.

I’ve been contemplating a new series for my blog, and coming up short with ideas. Then I had little brainwave, I wanted to show some of my favourite images that relate to the places mentioned in my books. Some I have been to, others I haven’t travelled to as yet and are on my ever-growing bucket-list. I definitely need two life-times, one isn’t enough to do all that I’d like!

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Who is Luciana Cavallaro?

Historical fiction novelist and a secondary teacher, Luciana Cavallaro, likes to meander between contemporary life to the realms of mythology and history. She has spent many lessons promoting literature and the merits of ancient history.